Italy have won their fourth consecutive win after defeating Iran in the FIVB Volleyball World League on Sunday

Lausanne,
Switzerland, June 1, 2014 – Italy and France continued with their four-game
winning streak on the second week of the FIVB Volleyball World League by
beating Iran and Japan, respectively.Italy scored another straight
sets (27-25, 25-18, 25-22) victory against Iran on Sunday to lead in Pool A.
With the two losses, Iran is now at the bottom of Pool A standings.Both teams fought closely
to the delight of the Verona crowd. Italy counted on their home fans while
1,000 Iranian fans also came to cheer for the visiting team.Italy recovered from the
pressure that the Iranian side applied late in the first frame, resulting to an
extended set. The Italians’ excellent service game helped them to secure the
second set after a strong start by the Iranians. Iran seized the lead before the
second technical timeout but eventually slipped as Italy made some key
replacements, with Jiri Kovar leading the charge. Kovar and Ivan Zaytsev’s outstanding offence in
the third set positioned Italy to claim victory.Kovar complemented
Zaytsev’s scoring dexterity in the match with 11 points coming off from the
attack line, two blocks and two aces. Zaytsev led Italy with 18 points.“We have
different resources, both our fundamentals and players helped guide the team’s
victory,” said Italy coach Mauro Berutto. “Zaytsev was amazing today. We cannot
fail in front of an audience like we had today, and I am glad we did not.”Meanwhile,
France showed control with their second 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-21) win over
Japan in Montpellier to take the lead in Pool D standings.France ruled the first and second sets as their intensity were unmatched by
Japan. The Japanese side was tentative which allowed the French squad to easily
swing the momentum to their side. Japan managed to bounce back in the third set
but their attacks lacked intensity which allowed France to breakout in the
match.

Mory Sidibé led all scorers with 18 points to extend the winning streak of France.In Pool
E, the four teams got even win-loss cards with one win and one loss each in their
second week start. Korea bounced back from their first match setback in
Eindhoven with a 3-1 (25-18, 25-23, 20-25, 25-22) victory over hosts Netherlands.
Tactical serving helped Korea’s young team to gain their first victory in this
edition of the World League. Czech Republic likewise forced a draw with
Portugal from their straight sets (25-23, 25-18, 25-22) triumph.In other
matches, Canada used home court advantage and defeated Finland in the
tiebreaker (19-25, 25-21, 25-18, 23-25, 15-11) to gain second spot in Pool C.
Gavin Schmitt’s 28-point output lifted Canada to pull off a victory in the fifth
set after a slow start.Germany
pulled-off a remarkable comeback after being down in the first two sets in
another five-setter match (20-25, 20-25, 25-20, 25-16, 15-13) to draw with Argentina in
Pool D and conclude the matches of the second week.The third week of FIVB Volleyball World
League 2014 continues on June 6 to 8.